Help for My 7Year Old Son Waiting for an Evaluation Still, Getting Worse

The school district will evaluate him right away. Call the district office to ask for one. It's been years ago and my granddaughter's elementary school wasn't aware of this service. Maybe your son'school isn't aware.

Federal law requires that each district "find" children needing help. The district also provides treatment. Because of money restraints there services are limited but they will help him and you so that he is successful in school.

My son was recently diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed meds. He's only been on the meds for 2 weeks, so this is still very new to us. He has also been diagnosed with Social Pragmatic Communicative Disorder (think Aspergers, but without the specific traits of Autism - his doctor said he does not have Autism).

There were a couple of things that have helped. The school has assigned him an aide for a few hours each day. He has two aids, and they each come for an hour or so a few times each day. During those times they are able to give him individualized attention and can help him out if they notice that something is bothering him that could escalate. When they are there, things rarely escalate. They are able to contain it right away.

Another thing that has helped is to give him "breaks." He gets a morning break and an afternoon break. They are only for 10 minutes each. His teacher has some worksheets for him to do (or some assignment), and his aid takes him to a resource room. This is really helpful to him, because sometimes he just gets overwhelmed by all the kids and the craziness that is school. Having just those 10 minutes really helps.

No easy answers, right? Our son is still a challenge, but these things help. We think the medicine is helping a little, but we're not sure it's quite the right one for him. Still, we have to give it time and check back with the doctor. It's a process.

Good luck!!!!! I hope you get some more suggestions.

My thought is really for any kid, but does he get enough sleep? Does he trouble settling down at night?

just asking, because one of my kids had trouble settling down at night - very restless in bed, kicking, rolling over, getting tangled in blankets - and Melatonin has worked really well. We give it about an hour before bed, and it really helps him relax and get sleepy.

It's not a drug and is completely natural. It's with the vitamins.

If you can afford it, can you take him to a chiropractor or naturopath? Most chiros/NMDs that I have worked with charge around $99 for the first session and then around $30-40 for each follow up visit. When my oldest (now 16) was first diagnosed with ADHD I was not ready to put him on medication because he was young (7) so we worked with a naturopath for a while. She came up with a plan of supplements and dietary changes for him. His supplements were fish oil (which everyone can benefit from), a supplement for adrenal support (Drenamin,you can only get it from a clinic licensed to sell Standard Process products) and a few others. He was noticeably calmer and more pleasant, with better sleep and fewer outbursts, immediately. We ended up not sticking to the plan because the office was an hour away and I just couldn't consistently carve out 2.5 hours a week in the middle of the week for visits, and the supplements were expensive. They definitely helped though and something like this might be a good option in the short-term for your son. Another thing that my son now takes (and has taken for a while) is Juice Plus. He calls them his happy pills and it's the one thing he makes sure that he starts the day with. He says that he feels "off" and agitated without it. You have to buy that through someone who sells it - you can't get it in stores - and it's about $45 a month and they automatically ship it to you and bill you each month. I was skeptical about it but he really likes it so we keep using it.

Magnesium is also very calming, B vitamins are good for mental focus and are also calming. Almost everyone is deficient in Vitamin D. Dietary changes can help a lot too...a breakfast high in protein and fats (eggs, sausage, a smoothie made with protein powder, nuts) will help avoid a mid-morning carb crash. For some kids, eliminating inflammatory proteins such as gluten and dairy products, reducing sugar consumption and artificial colors and flavors makes a big difference in how they feel and act.

The thing is that when you start venturing into nutrition and supplements, changes can get expensive quickly and you might be spending your time and energy on a strategy that doesn't work for your kid. That's where working with a naturopath or chiropractor can end up saving you in the long run. You'll have someone who can use their diagnostic expertise to say "in other kids with similar issues, we've seen that these three changes have been the most effective: X, Y, Z" and then you'll know to try those first instead of 5 other things that might not be right for him. If finances are an issue, be upfront with the practitioner and let them know that you don't have an unlimited budget in terms of time or money, that you're not grocery shopping at Whole Foods and need to really target your changes to those that will have the biggest impact. They should still be able to come up with some suggestions that can help your son.

Good luck to you!

ETA: others have suggested an evaluation at school. While this is necessary to assess baseline metrics such as cognitive ability, behavioral issues, etc. it's of course only one piece of the puzzle. A school evaluation CANNOT diagnose or treat medical problems such as ADHD, anxiety or mood disorders. You are right to pursue having him evaluated for those issues through his doctor. There are components that overlap and having the school's testing and observation results can help with the medical diagnosis, but it's not a substitute for that medical diagnosis.

Write the principal requesting a full evaluation of your child because you are concerned about learning issues. Drop it of and get a dated copy as receipt. The school then has 30 days to respond to you with a letter giving permission to test. Schools drag this out as long as they can since it costs money. Put everything in writing and keep copies.

Is your son involved in a sport? It would be very useful for your son to have a strong male mentor. The anger and aggression suggest to me that he really feels the lack of a male in his life. Aggressive males really benefit from having a strong male presence.

Martial arts? Another sport? Big Brothers organization?

This really sounds like more of an emotional problem than ADHD. I'm not saying he doesn't have ADHD, but anger is something different.

It's very hard being a single parent. My heart goes out to you.

With a string of issues like this, the school district should absolutely be evaluating him. This is not something that you pay for- well, you do, because it is paid for with tax dollars, but you don't pay for it through your insurance. It should be as simple as calling a number and setting up an appointment. The appointment may be quite long, be prepared for that. My son has a slight speech issue and I contacted our school district to see what might be available. I opted out of the evaluation in favor of a "wait and see" policy because the eval was four hours and covers all areas of development, not just speech. For your son, that sounds like exactly what he needs, a comprehensive evaluation. From there, you can work on an IEP and getting your son the help he needs. If you have problems, you can look into pro bono legal assistance, there are many programs that help families with special needs kids to get the services to which they are entitled.
Best of luck!!

Talk to the pediatrician since you can't get in to see a psychiatrist yet. Tell him about your son having issues paying attention. See if he'll give your son Ritalin. Most insurances won't cover other ADHD meds until they've tried Ritalin to see if it works because it works well in those it works with and it's a long time successful med.

Our guy takes 1 at school after breakfast them takes a half at noon. He could also give him a mood stabilizer to help him be calmer during the day.

Once he gets evaluated then can always change him over to something else but in the mean time....do something medical.

Can the guidance counselor at school help?

Pediatric Oncologist here: Try OTC supplements of Magnesium, B Complex Vitamin and D3. Definately call your pediatrician and see if he will approve Ritalin, but I recommend you keep the boy at home, supervised for the first 3 days on Ritalin until you get the dosage adjusted, too much Ritalin and he will drop like a rock without warning, too little and you get no benefit at all.

Look at fun and functions website. I have a daughter with similar behaviour. She was suspended twice in k, and twice again in first. We actually changed her school midway through first because sometimes a fresh start can help.
We got her the wiggle seat from fun and function and it helps a little. We also have her on omega vitamins, we tried advocare spark but it didn't do much. Nothing really does much honestly. Light at the end of the tunnel, my son was the same way and he grew out of it at about 9

Hi L.,

My 7year old daughters diagnosis was removed after I detoxed (completely stripped all synthetic chemicals) our home. I added an absorbable multivitamin and worked with her neurological system with principled chiropractic care. I can't say that is a fix for everyone but it was miraculous. The poisoning of the neurological system is rampant in today's homes and schools. Communication in the neurological system is even worse than it used to be because of "text neck." If you're interested in trying this route, PM me. I'm an open book and hate for anyone to go through what I did. She is now a delightful 19 year old that only gets "hyper" when she hits the perfume counter at the mall :)

God bless,
M.

This may sound crazy, but give him a Rockstar or Monster. These 2 energy drinks have a lot of different amino acids in them that directly affect the connections in the brain. Our son has autism and sensory processing disorder and our daughter also has spd as well. We have been working with individual amino acids from Purebulk.com and different ones are having great affects for them and us. I don't want to really guide you any way on this one because each person is different and you need to figure out what will work for your son. But, Theanine, Gaba, Caffeine, NALT, Vitamin C and D, and others can all help different connections in the brain activate or slow down, depending on what is needed.

You might also want to look into an Occupational Therapist to help him regulate his body which will help with both issues. Your Pedi will make the refferal for this so you can do that now. Going to the park and swinging or jumping and swimming are all really good at centering the body and mind.

Finally, if he is having anxiety, then he needs someone to talk to and give him tools so that he can learn to let it go or deal with it.

I hope this helps at least a little bit. Good luck and good job mama!